After finishing the fresh milk deliveries, Lucas glanced at the time and decided to browse the Twinleaf Town market for a bit.
He wanted to see if there was anything suitable to buy and bring back home.
The food supply at home was running low, primarily the meat.
The eaters at home were simply too voracious.
Three Machamps, one Gengar, and recently, a Dragonite and a Gyarados.
Almost all the money he earned went straight into the food budget.
That Pachirisu had tried to escape from Lucas multiple times, but he kept dragging it back and placing it on his shoulder; eventually, it just gave up and sprawled flat on top of Lucas's head.
Lucas felt his neck straining under the weight and tried to move it back to his shoulder.
It froze for a moment, then crawled right back onto his neck.
Lucas moved it again; it crawled back again.
In the end, Lucas resigned himself to his fate and let it stay on top of his head.
Inside the Breeding House, Nurse Joy was sitting in the lounge area, surrounded by Lilligant and the others.
Nurse Joy was massaging the Vulpix on her lap, snacking, and chatting with her Pokémon besties.
Though they didn't share a language, Nurse Joy could generally guess what they meant.
"I remember when Lilligant was still a Petilil, she was so shy. It hasn't been that long, and now she can already sit behind the counter and greet customers."
Lilligant gave a gentle smile. "Laji~"
I'm learning from Nurse Joy.
Nurse Joy laughed happily.
Nurse Joy reached out to touch Dash's arm; it was thicker than her own thigh.
"You're amazing, Dash."
"nihai!"
Dash struck a bodybuilding pose, his muscles bulging.
Then he flashed a toothy grin.
"With such a great sense of security, other Pokémon must really like you."
As soon as Nurse Joy said this, the surrounding Pokémon all burst out laughing.
Nurse Joy was confused.
Then she saw Dash's brow furrow the moment he heard those words, looking extremely distressed.
She thought to herself, there's definitely a story here!
Just as she was about to ask, a Pinsir walked over, holding some snacks it had brought from the canteen.
"Heli."
Pinsir placed the snacks in the middle and said something while looking at Dash. Seeing that Dash ignored it, it dejectedly returned to the canteen to continue helping out.
Nurse Joy let out an "Oh~"
She recognized this Pinsir; it had run over from the Pokémon Center. Initially, it had been beaten up by Lilligant and Gothitelle (who was still a Gothorita at the time). Later, it became infatuated with Vespiquen but was warned off by her. Finally, it had become obsessed with Dash.
She had thought it wouldn't persist for long, but she hadn't expected this.
Nurse Joy looked at Dash teasingly and began to joke with him.
Lilligant and the others joined in the teasing as well.
For a moment, Dash became even more troubled.
He couldn't win an argument against Nurse Joy and the others, so he could only pick up a golden berry stick and bite down on it fiercely.
He liked Pokémon stronger than himself.
Only a Pokémon that could defeat him head-on could catch his eye.
In truth, Lucas really felt for Pinsir. It wasn't that Pinsir wasn't strong, but that Dash was too strong.
Physically, Machoke and Vex were already a size larger than normal Machamp, and Dash was a size larger than Machoke and Vex. His physique looked incredibly powerful.
Furthermore, they were veteran employees of the Breeding House, joining only a few days after Gengar. Lucas had specifically prepared rich nutritional meals for them. Having eaten them for so long, they had triggered numerous 'Gourmet Critical Hits.' At the same time, they were trained by the Pokémon of Cynthia, Lucian, and Lance. Every day, he would wrestle with Machoke and Vex, and he usually had Gengar use Gravity to help him train.
With all these factors combined, Dash was the strongest in the Breeding House after Gengar and Lilligant, slightly surpassing Gothitelle.
Poor Pinsir likely still had a very long road ahead.
After chatting for a while, Nurse Joy stood up and walked toward the backyard.
Lilligant and Roselia returned to sit behind the counter.
Blissey followed Gothitelle to the planting area. Some Herbal herbal medicines with short growth cycles had already matured; after all, the blessings of Celebi and Lugia were far too powerful.
Looking at the matured herbs, Blissey began to ask Gothitelle about the types and effects of the herbs Lucas had planted.
Gothitelle slowly introduced them to Blissey, eventually arriving in front of the matured herbs.
"Goth."
I hope to use them to formulate better Herbal medicine.
Blissey's eyes lit up.
"Happi~"
Can I try?
Gothitelle nodded with a smile. During this time, it had read many books on herbal medicine and consulted Lucas. It was deeply fascinated by herbal medicine. Additionally, the Breeding House had some ingredients with special effects, such as sweet honey, fresh milk, and goat milk. Perhaps with a little processing, they could yield Herbal medicine with a different flavor and bring about miraculous changes.
Moreover, it was very curious about the herbal medicine seeds Lucas had brought from the mysterious East Jewel region. It was amazing that so many things could be used as medicinal materials, even scorpions.
It had to make Lucas buy more of these things.
Then it could formulate Herbal medicine itself.
Gothitelle picked some matured herbs—these were basic herbs for treating colds—and then took Blissey back to the kitchen.
First, they processed the herbs and poured them into a pot. Then Gothitelle floated to the bookshelf and took out a book.
This was the book Lucas used to record Herbal medicine. Lucas could clearly see the effects of the medicines recorded in it through his Golden Finger, and then he would write the effects down.
It had now been renamed "Gothitelle's Herbal Medicine List" by Lucas and officially given to Gothitelle as a gift.
Gothitelle handed the book to Blissey, who began to read it seriously.
Meanwhile, Gothitelle began to formulate a new Herbal medicine.
Since this could be made into medicine for treating colds, was there a way to make its effects more broad-spectrum?
For example, for dizziness, headaches, stomachaches, and the like.
Gothitelle used psychic power to control the surroundings and began trying to add herbs whose medicinal effects did not conflict, formulating one type of Herbal medicine after another, only to pour them all out in dissatisfaction at the end.
These medicines were actually similar to the ones on the list, but Gothitelle wanted something even better.
It also wanted to be like the people and Pokémon in the books, developing its own Herbal medicine.
Just as Gothitelle was starting a new round of attempts, Blissey closed the book and came to its side.
Looking at the nearly finished medicine, it suddenly made a suggestion.
Based on its long time working at the Pokémon Center, many people with colds liked cooling things. For instance, with nasal congestion, if there was something very cool and refreshing, it would make the congestion less uncomfortable.
Gothitelle thought for a moment.
"Goth?"
How about mint?
Blissey nodded.
Finally, after a back-and-forth exchange of ideas, a pot of very cooling Herbal medicine began to come out.
Gothitelle only needed to take one sniff to feel refreshed.
"Goth?"
It seems—not bad?
It had a premonition that this would be a great success.
Blissey had the same premonition, so it ran out to call Nurse Joy inside.
On the other side, having finished his shopping, Lucas waited at the school gate. School ended early in this world. Shauna, carrying her schoolbag and holding Chiyo's hand, came skipping out of the school gates.
Next to the Rapidash, she found Lucas sitting on a Gogoat, with Gengar and Staraptor floating nearby.
"Uncle, you came to pick me up."
Shauna called out in a clear voice, then pulled Chiyo along to Lucas's side.
Lucas already knew from Gengar's earlier report that Shauna had made a new friend on her first day of school, so he wasn't surprised.
"Uncle, this is my good friend, Chiyo."
Shauna introduced her good friend to Lucas. Lucas was momentarily stunned when he heard the name.
Miss Power? Your family wouldn't happen to make clothes too, would they?
However, Lucas didn't ask that out loud; instead, he greeted her.
"Hello there, little Chiyo."
"Chiyo, this is my best uncle."
Chiyo blushed slightly and spoke softly: "Hello, Uncle."
Lucas snatched a jar of snacks from Gengar and handed it to Chiyo.
"Here, for you. I made them myself. Shauna and Gengar really like them."
Chiyo took it, somewhat surprised, and quickly thanked him.
Observing Chiyo's proper etiquette, Lucas guessed her family was likely well-off.
After Shauna and Chiyo said their goodbyes, Shauna mounted the Rapidash and headed back toward the Breeding House with Lucas.
Along the way, Shauna shared many stories about school with Lucas and Gengar.
Lucas and Gengar listened to Shauna's stories with smiles, occasionally responding with a few words.
Returning to the Breeding House, Lucas walked inside and noticed the atmosphere felt slightly off.
Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, Gothitelle pulled him along as she floated toward the kitchen.
As soon as he entered the kitchen, a refreshing scent wafted over.
Lucas looked over and saw Nurse Joy, Blissey, and Lilligant standing in front of a bowl of Herbal medicine.
"What's this?"
As Lucas asked, Gothitelle pulled him to the front of the medicine.
"This is a Herbal medicine developed by Gothitelle and Blissey together. I'm not quite sure about it because it looks a bit like a drink?"
Nurse Joy explained. Lucas nodded, staring at the medicine in the bowl.
Just as Lucas couldn't make heads or tails of it, he noticed his Golden Finger seemed to have upgraded.
He faintly saw a label: Superior Quality.
The next second, the description for this medicine popped up.
[Unnamed: The result of collaboration and exchange between Gothitelle and Blissey. It has good efficacy for symptoms such as nasal congestion, dizziness, headache, vomiting, colds, and stomachaches. It seems adding some other things might lead to even better results?]
Why does this look more and more like—the miracle oil 'Essential Balm' from my previous life?
Lucas looked at Gothitelle. "Do you remember how you made it?"
Gothitelle nodded and walked Lucas through the preparation again. During the process, Lucas tried adding several other medicinal herbs.
[Unnamed · Improved Version: The result of research by Gothitelle, Blissey, and Lucas. It has excellent effects on symptoms like nasal congestion, dizziness, headache, motion sickness, vomiting, gastric pain, stomachache, and colds. It can also repel insects, restore the spirits of Pokémon and humans, improve focus, and increase the sense of happiness. For Pokémon that like coolness, it can enhance intimacy. A multi-functional medicine.]
It really is Essential Balm?!
Wait, these effects are way better than Essential Balm!
Lucas was incredibly shocked.
He looked at Gothitelle. You're amazing, my Gothitelle.
A herbal medicine master!
Following the Golden Finger's description, Lucas phrased the efficacy as his own conjecture and spoke it aloud.
At the same time, he took a trial sip; the cooling sensation rushed straight to his brain.
Tears even started flowing.
This is too blissful!
Nearby, Gengar took a large gulp and was currently crying from being so moved.
Immediately after, it floated out of the Breeding House, panting happily, and the air it exhaled slowly began to condense into ice mist.
Gengar used Icy Wind.
The temperature in the Breeding House dropped by several degrees.
Vulpix jumped down from Nurse Joy's arms, the Moltres feather around its neck glowing.
Vulpix used Heat Wave.
The temperature in the Breeding House rose by several degrees.
Lucas: ——
So—so powerful!
Even Nurse Joy was startled by the efficacy Lucas described.
"I'll take it back to the Pokémon Center for testing and trials later. If it's really as you say, then you can officially put it on sale. With these effects, Lucas, you should prepare for your business to explode."
Lucas nodded. Looking at the slightly off-colored Pokémon world version of Essential Balm, he thought for a moment and then said: "Lilligant, could I trouble you to give it some color?"
Lilligant tilted her little head in confusion, but still followed Lucas's words, gently adding some plant essence (actually chlorophyll) into it. Soon, the bowl of medicine was dyed green.
Right, that's more like it!
Looking at the correctly colored medicine, Lucas finally squinted his eyes comfortably.
He turned to Gothitelle and held out his hand, giving her a high-five.
"As expected of you, Gothitelle. You're the next herbal medicine master."
Lucas was not stingy with his praise.
Lilligant covered her mouth and laughed happily.
"So confident that you're right?"
Nurse Joy teased from the side.
Lucas nodded, utterly confident.
"Do you think my title as the Breeding House's number one herbal medicine master is just for show?"
In the Breeding House, only he and Gothitelle knew how to brew Herbal medicine.
His confidence came entirely from his Golden Finger.
"Blissey, you're great too. I declare you another herbal medicine master, just below me and Gothitelle."
.
Lucas spoke to Blissey smugly.
The next second, Lilligant and Gothitelle took Blissey's hands and walked out of the kitchen with looks of disdain.
"Laji~"
Let's go, don't pay him any mind.
"Goth."
Tch.
Lucas: ——
Hey, you're just leaving like that? Is that okay?
Nurse Joy gave a slight shrug.
"Then I'll leave you to keep up the good work, herbal medicine master~"
After saying that, she walked out holding Vulpix to go play with Shauna.
Blissey turned back and gave him a smile.
"Happi~"
Lucas: ——
Looking at the still-tearing Gengar, Lucas sighed.
"I won't sink to their level. Gengar, what do you want to eat tonight?"
"Kou—siha, koujie—siha (TT)"
I want to eat—want to eat—want to eat... a—siha—
Seeing this, Lucas said: "Forget it, I'll make you some noodles. I feel like eating some too."
"Koujie—"
Okay~ siha—
....
Power Stones PLZZZZZ
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